The Flight of the Bumblebee

‘The Flight of the Bumblebee’ is one of those instantly recognisable musical hits that sometimes stick in your mind for days. But what few people know is that it comes from The Tale of Tsar Saltan, where it is a symphonic intermezzo that ends the first scene of Act Three. With its agitated rhythms and patterns of rapidly descending and ascending scales, it describes how Prince Gvidon, whom the Princess-Swan has turned into a bumblebee, flies across the sea hoping to meet his father.

Several weeks before the premiere, the Symphony Orchestra of La Monnaie and its Musical Director Alain Altinoglu are already offering you a foretaste.